Basque Language

Basque Language

Intangible Heritage

Basque is hypothesized to be a very ancient European language [A]. This is because it does not appear to have linguistic links to other languages of Indo-European heritage or any in the world for that matter [A-B]. It faced major suppression during the Spanish dictatorship in the 20th century [C]. Thankfully, today the Spanish government acknowledges Basque as an official language of the country [D]. It is important to note that Basque is also spoken in a neighboring region in France [E]. Basque has been shown to be a source of discrimination in the past, therefore protecting this heritage is important for the goal of reduced inequalities, sustainable development goal number 10 [F].

is51102025

mnsm1

English

Intangible

1458

31/03/2025

[A] Anna Bitong, ‘The revival of Europe’s oldest language’, BBC, Digital Newspaper Article, 25 February 2022, < https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20170719-the-mysterious-origins-of-europes-oldest-language> [accessed 17 February 2025]. [B] Jay H. Jasanoff & Warren Cowgill, ‘Franz Bopp’, Encyclopeadia Britannica, Internet Encyclopedia, 12 February 2025, < https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indo-European-languages/Establishment-of-the-family> [accessed 17 February 2025]. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, ‘Franz Bopp’, Encyclopeadia Britannica, Internet Encyclopedia, 19 October 2024, < https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Bopp> [accessed 17 February 2025]. [C] Aitzol Altuna Enzunza, ‘Las leyes contra el euskera y el catalán’, Nabarralde, Blog, 6 February 2023 < https://nabarralde.eus/las-leyes-contra-el-euskera-y-el-catalan/>, [accessed 17 February 2025]. ElDiarioand, ‘Moreno afirma que Catalunya y Euskadi fueron “privilegiados por el franquismo” y pide a diputados del PSOE a votar a Feijóo', elDiario.es, Digital Newspaper Article, 22 September 2023, , [accessed 17 February 2025]. [D] ‘Lenguas Oficiales en España’, Ministerio de Política Territorial y Memoría Democrática, Official Government Website, (undated), < https://mpt.gob.es/portal/politica-territorial/autonomica/Lenguas-cooficiales.html> [accessed 17 February 2025]. [E] ‘País Vasco’, Instituto cultural vasco, Website, (undated), < https://www.eke.eus/es/cultura-vasca/pais-vasco> [F] ‘Goal 10’, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Website, (undated), , [accessed 17 February 2025].

cm x cm x cm

current,42.9896,-2.6189;

TEXT

true

3882